As long as people exist, evil will keep breeding

For a fleeting instant, Fugaku genuinely hoped something was wrong with his hearing, rather than that Uchiha Chisen harbored such a dangerous thought.

-He wanted to kill the Hokage but hadn't found the right opportunity!

Was that something anyone could openly say in broad daylight?

Even someone as levelheaded as Fugaku nearly lost his composure.

Just then.

More members of the Konoha Military Police Force arrived, one after another.

They blocked off every intersection, leaving Uchiha Onigawara no chance of escape.

They also cast wary looks at the two men ahead.

But when they realized Uchiha Chisen was there too.

They visibly froze.

"Uchiha Chisen? Isn't he... related to Uchiha Onigawara? His nephew, if I remember right?"

A member of the Konoha Military Police Force muttered to himself in astonishment.

Uchiha Onigawara was just as shocked as Fugaku.

As Uchiha Chisen's blood relative, he had believed he understood Chisen's extreme personality very well.

Only now did he realize...

His understanding of Uchiha Chisen had been far too shallow.

This brat's extremism knew no bounds!

He dared to kill Uchiha Clan shinobi, his own close blood relatives, and even the Hokage himself!

In the vast Shinobi World...

Was there anyone he wouldn't dare kill?

The agonizing pain from his fingers had already blurred Uchiha Onigawara's vision. Every time Uchiha Chisen took a step forward, he staggered a step back.

Uchiha Onigawara suddenly broke into a savage grin, his voice turning vicious. "...Chisen, let's be honest. Isn't your so-called [Absolute Justice] just an excuse to kill? Besides, you haven't necessarily killed fewer people in Konoha than I have, have you? You and I are the same! We share the same blood! We both love killing!"

"Chisen! Sooner or later, someone will tear off your mask! Sooner or later, you'll become exactly like me! No, you'll be even more extreme! That's the destiny ordained by the Uchiha Clan blood we share!"

In an instant, surging magma filled Uchiha Onigawara's entire field of vision.

With all ten fingers melted away by magma, he no longer had the strength to resist.

The distance between them had closed so much that he had no chance to dodge, either.

"Chisen! I'll be waiting for you in the Underworld!!!"

-BOOM!!!

All strength instantly drained from a body whose head had vanished.

It toppled straight backward onto the ground.

Uchiha Onigawara.

Dead!

[Ding! You have successfully killed a "red name" evildoer! Your chakra has received a small boost! Congratulations! You have successfully obtained the drop: "Uchiha Onigawara's Sharingan Eye Power"!]

Uchiha Chisen's magma arm had returned to normal.

He stood motionless, his eyes closed.

He could distinctly feel a surge of Eye Power being rapidly absorbed and digested within his eyes, merging with his own Sharingan's Eye Power.

The change lasted only two short seconds.

To everyone else...

He had fallen into deathly silence after personally killing a close blood relative who had plunged into the abyss of evil.

"This guy..." An Uchiha Clan shinobi wanted to approach and check on him, but hesitated. "He really killed his own blood relative for his so-called [Absolute Justice]?"

A Konoha Military Police Force Ninja fell silent for half a second before saying quietly, "Apparently, Uchiha Onigawara was Uchiha Chisen's only surviving blood relative."

"That's..."

"No wonder he's called a genius the Uchiha Clan only sees once in decades. With that kind of mettle, he'll awaken the legendary Mangekyō Sharingan someday, won't he?"

"His eyes seem to be closed... Hey, hey, I remember he has three tomoe. Is he really about to awaken it?"

"That's impossible, isn't it..."

"Tch. That [Absolute Justice] he's always going on about actually wasn't just empty talk. Before he died, Uchiha Onigawara even tried to shake Uchiha Chisen's nindo. He was dreaming. How could someone like this ever be shaken?"

"..."

While everyone whispered among themselves, Izumi finally arrived in a rush with Kijiro.

She braced her hands on her knees, panting, her little face pale.

"Meow, Lord Chisen really did put justice above family..."

Izumi suddenly heard the shock in Kijiro's voice from her shoulder.

She hurriedly looked up and saw Senior Chisen standing silently before a headless corpse.

A little magma still flowed across the ground ahead.

She exclaimed in shock, "That... that body couldn't be...?"

"It's Uchiha Onigawara," Kijiro said. "The corpse's head is gone, and the neck looks blackened and charred. No need to guess. Lord Chisen definitely killed him with Lava Release, meow."

"Meow, that was Lord Chisen's only surviving blood relative. Now he's truly all alone in this world."

Izumi pressed her lips together.

"Is Senior Chisen in a lot of pain right now?"

She murmured.

Izumi couldn't imagine how she would feel if she had killed her own blood relative.

Grief?

Pain?

Regret?

Sorrow?

"Ah-" She hurriedly wiped her damp eyes, only to turn her head and meet Kijiro's scornful gaze.

"Rookie, you're way too empathetic. Good thing Lord Chisen hasn't looked this way, or you'd lose points, meow."

Izumi protested quietly, "But... maybe only people with strong empathy can truly appreciate how hard-won justice and fairness are."

She took a deep breath. While none of the Konoha Military Police Force Ninja, Fugaku included, had taken a single step forward.

She took the initiative and walked toward Uchiha Chisen.

"...Senior Chisen?" Izumi came to Uchiha Chisen's side and worked up the courage to call to him.

"Rookie, you're just in time."

She noticed no sadness in Senior Chisen's voice. It was as flat as ever, as though he had already gone numb.

Uchiha Chisen asked, "Which lesson that I taught you was this?"

Izumi hurriedly straightened up and answered, "The fourth lesson! No matter what high-sounding excuses others use to commit evil, we must carry out absolute justice without wavering! Even if..."

She had a good memory.

She could remember what Senior Chisen said after hearing it just once.

Izumi's voice grew a little subdued, but then she remembered how the people around them had never understood the justice he believed in. She immediately raised her voice and shouted, "Even if we must turn the blade of justice against those we know best, those closest to us!"

"We must not hesitate! We must bring down the blade without leniency!"

"We must enforce justice by absolute and thorough means!!!"

"And thereby purge the Shinobi World of evil!!!"

Uchiha Chisen glanced at Izumi, whose little face had flushed slightly from shouting, then turned to Uchiha Fugaku a short distance away. "I'll leave the rest for you to handle."

The girl's resolute shouts still echoed in Fugaku's ears.

He looked at Uchiha Chisen and Izumi with complicated feelings.

Chisen had passed his "nindo" on to the next generation after all!

But could the "evil" of the Shinobi World truly be purged?

-Chisen, as long as people exist, evil will keep breeding! You understand that better than anyone, don't you?

Fugaku didn't say those words aloud.

But he knew that after today, quite a few members of the Uchiha Clan would probably change their opinion of Chisen.